Many threads here at the end of last season and into the offseason about what the Bucs were going to do in FA. Let Mayfield walk? Sign Evans? Lose Winfield? What about our LT?
Theres some looking back covered in the press now to show how it actually played out.
Winfield never leaving and TAG probably a part of coordinated plan to sign others:
Antoine Winfield: No, no. Never thought about it. Never thought about leaving. I’m so happy to be here. And I’m happy everything worked out for the other guys that got deals. It’s going to be a fun year having us all back.
Then, this is Licht looking back at the process:
"Licht: Meeting with agents [at the combine] at Indy, and walking out of them…
Spielman: Maybe the most depressing time of the year coming out of Indy after meeting with the agents.
Licht: Oh! (Sigh). Oh, so depressing! However, we did one night receive a breakthrough with Mike. And his agent. And it came down to Mike’s wife, Ashli and my wife pushing me. And that was the first one. After that it got a little bit easier. It was a little easier to get Baker and then Lavonte and Antoine and ultimately a couple of weeks ago, Tristan getting him extended"
The wives story meshes with Evans comments recently. I think the combine is end of Feb, beginning of March and Evans deal is announced March 8th, Mayfield on the 13th.
Seems like they were all coming back or at least that there are external, non-money factors that come into play.
Bucs still have cap space so it will be interesting to see what they plan to do with the rest of it before the season starts.
To be replaced by Week 1 Angst if we lose the first game. There's a lot of positivity about bringing back the main players from our 9-8 team, but there also are some high expectations that go along with it. Here's what will make fans nervous again: A 0-1 won loss record.
Here's what will make fans nervous again: A 0-1 won loss record.
Justifiably so against the Commanders with a rookie QB playing his first NFL gam.
Here's what will make fans nervous again: A 0-1 won loss record.
Justifiably so against the Commanders with a rookie QB playing his first NFL gam.
its entirely possible
new offense not yet in sync
new guys on D lead to a couple miscommunications
no film
looking past it
The Bucs are fortunate to open the season at home versus an underdog opponent. Just showing up won't win the game. Hopefully the Bucs will be ready to go and get the W.
I think that game may tell us a good bit about the Bucs
The Bucs are fortunate to open the season at home versus an underdog opponent. Just showing up won't win the game. Hopefully the Bucs will be ready to go and get the W.
well put it this way, they lose to the lowly Commanders at home and it's going to be a long season
This team needs to win the games they will likely be favored in - CAR (X2), DEN, WAS, split with ATL/NO, LV - that is 7 wins.
they then have games which we could be at least touchdown underdogs in Baltimore, Chiefs, and 49ers. No guarantees in life but almost guaranteed Ls here.
Then there's the underdog games they we have a shot in - @ DET, PHI, @DAL, @LA. Most pundits will have this as 4 losses but let's say we can at least take 1
so we are sitting at 8-8 with a game against the Giants on the road. No gimme by any means.
that's 9-8. I have us optimistically at 10-7 with beating PHI and LA.
losing to WAS and you see real quickly how playoffs could slip away, not much flexibility in this schedule unless theres injuries
losing to WAS and you see real quickly how playoffs could slip away
This is what makes the NFL tough and great.
I think the Commanders are 6.5 wins prediction and +310 to playoffs, the Bucs are 7.5 wins prediction and +142 to the playoffs. Add in the stuff I mention above and its a key game, as you point out.
I think it is sometimes hard to win the games you should
The Bucs can have a tough time with mobile QBs. They need to keep Daniels in the pocket and force him to throw the ball. He's bound to make mistakes, but if he's allowed to get out of a 3rd and nine and run 20 yards for the first down then that will give the Commanders a sense that they can win as happened when Taylor Heineke almost derailed the Bucs in the playoffs.losing to WAS and you see real quickly how playoffs could slip away
This is what makes the NFL tough and great.
I think the Commanders are 6.5 wins prediction and +310 to playoffs, the Bucs are 7.5 wins prediction and +142 to the playoffs. Add in the stuff I mention above and its a key game, as you point out.
I think it is sometimes hard to win the games you should
It would be awesome to see the Bucs come out strong early and score on the first drive and never look back!
Wouldn't that be great, just like the NFC Championship game in Green Bay. The problem is if the Bucs win the coin toss, they probably will defer. If the Commanders win the toss, then hopefully they will defer and your wish has a chance to come true.
SI
"McCollum, McMillan and Diaby are just a few of the draft-and-develop success stories here over the past few years. Twenty-two of the 23 players the Bucs have drafted over the past three years are still with the team, and all of them have an excellent shot at making the 53-man roster. When that roster is done, there’s a really good chance that, including the college free agents (such as Johnson), more than half of the 53 guys making the team will be homegrown through those three draft cycles. Really, it’s pretty much exactly what the Bucs needed coming out of the Tom Brady Era, when they’d eat dead money and need to get younger—outside of Evans, Godwin, Lavonte David, William Gholston and Vita Vea, the team here is really young. And Baker Mayfield, who’s come back locked in, having moved his family full-time to Tampa in the offseason, is still just 29, giving him a lot of runway as a quarterback. There’s no denying the job the coaches and scouts here, led by Todd Bowles and Jason Licht, have done in turning over what was an older roster."
Crazy they are calling these guys success stories already
McMillan hasn’t taken an NFL snap yet, diaby had promising rookie year but the hope is continued progression for Yaya and zyon; no guarantee they will be good starters
obviously front office thought enough of them to move on from washed up shaq and half decent Carlton
